Page 32 of Now Their Starlet

On top of that, this is for Andi, and I wouldn’t put it past Gina to try brainwashing her to think that none of us gave a shit about her. That we’ve forgotten and abandoned her. That she’ll be forever alone.

Because that’s what she thought when we first met. That’s the lens she viewed the world through because Gina spent the decades Andi spent under her roof poisoning her own daughter’s mind.

Each and every one of us brings a little piece to the puzzle. Something only one of us can do, whether that’s perspective, skillset, or availability.

I’m the only one whose song and art can possibly reach her.

Eli’s the only one who can keep me relatively sane.

Leo’s the only one with that unique perspective of his, taking into consideration things none of us would even think of.

Everett’s the one with the legal connections and the ability to keep the ship from sinking while the rest of us freak the hell out.

Cameron’s the only one with press experience of cases that deal with injustice, and Andi’s situation is chock-full of it.

Even Edison has his role in this. He’s the only one the courts would be willing to transfer the conservatorship to at this stage of the case.

Maybe that’s why I feel so helpless. Because I feel like my part is so tiny and pathetic that it doesn’t even matter.

“Your point about caring to the point of creation... That’s pretty profound,” I say softly, staring out at the view of LA and letting the soft warmth of the setting sun soak into my bones. “I should write that down somewhere.”

“Feel free,” Edison says.

“Do you think... what I’m doing is enough? I can’t help but feel like I should be doing more. Not that—not that I’m even doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” I let out an exhausted huff as I wipe my clammy hands on the front of my dark-wash jeans. “All I’ve done is fall apart.”

I think Edison seems to be able to tell what I’m looking to hear, because his expression softens.

“It’s enough, son. More than enough.” He reaches out and squeezes my shoulder. There’s a hint of a tremble in his touch, but I’m too emotional and overwhelmed by him saying exactly what I need to hear to focus on it. “Sometimes art is a more powerful form of communication than anything else.”

“Yeah,” I nod. “Thank you.”

As Edison leaves Eli and me alone again, I notice that Eli has gone silent, the line in his broad shoulders, stiff and rigid.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“I should be askin’ you that,” Eli grunts. “But yeah, I’m fine.”

“Hmmm, okay.” I narrow my eyes on him, the doubt obvious in my tone.

“Don’t okay me,” Eli huffs. “I’m just thinking about Andi’s dad. The guy seems to just... say all the right things. And he cares. It’s... weird.”

“Weird how?” I step up beside Eli, reaching for his hand and squeezing it. I know Eli was just comforting me, but I honestly feel better after the chat with Edison. Which means I should be a good omega, the same way he’s been a fantastic alpha for me the past few weeks by holding down the fort and keeping me from going insane.

“I mean, Andi grew up thinking the guy was an abusive asshole, so there’s a part of me waiting to see if that shit’ll slip out. But we’ve been around him long enough and... I don’t think he’s got a macho, abusive, dominant alpha bone in his body, even though he’s an alpha.”

His description makes me nod. That description reminds me an awful lot of Eli’s dad. Because of all the chaos with Andi, the two of us never really got to talk about how he’s been doing, rejecting his dad’s request to see if he was a match for a liver transplant.

“I mean, I kind of thought the same at first, but... He’s different, I think,” I murmur.

“Yeah,” Eli shrugs, his eyes drifting back towards the sliding glass doors, back into the house where Edison disappeared. “Still trying to figure out what the hell his endgame is, being so nice to the lot of us.”

“Maybe... maybe he just wants to be a dad,” I say, remembering the way he held my shoulder and called me son. “It would make sense, considering his only daughter was taken away. He spent years trying to get her back. And if he wants to act fatherly to all of us instead of just to Andi, is that really such a bad thing?”

“Nah,” Eli says with a shake of his head. “Honestly, I could use one. Maybe one day I’ll get used to a guy like Edison saying the perfect shit all the time.”

“He kinda does say perfect shit, huh?” I say, letting out a huff of laughter. “It... kind of makes me sad. Maybe we would’ve never met Andi, but if she’d grown up with her dad instead of her mom, she probably would’ve had a better childhood, right?”

“Probably. Anything other than the shit hand she was dealt would have been better. But... no point dwelling on that kinda stuff. We can’t change it, you know?”